The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1887-11-18
THE LAST or Sparks.

Sparks is one more monumental exhi.
bition Of the inefficiency Of the present
administration. From the day Sparks
began work bis action has been that OF
a pure demagogue. He has no legal
ability, and he had not been in Office a
month before IL was common remark
anong the friends Of Mr.. Cleveland that
Sparks was by all odds bis worst APP
poIntment in Washington. He was not
dishonest, but the idea which controlled
all his actions seemed 20 be to seize on
every case before his Office and use it in
some way for the purpose Of creating
the impression that he was making
great reforms and accomplishing won
ders against monopolies. He was very
successful in thus, though in doing it he
acted in opposition to plain and long
unquestioned law and presidents of
long standing.
When oyerruled by Secretary Lamar
he paid no attention to It If he could
possibly avoid 1t, and while he was not
always able to act affirmatiyely in the
face of the Secretary's dlsapproyal, he
could and did delay action. The result
has been to make confusion in land mat
tors general throughout the whole re-
gion over which operations at the Gen
eral Land Office extended. This has
been true not only of the railroad cor
porations dealing with the government,
but of individual settlers, as well, and
the whole class of farmers who had not
completed their purchases and obtained
their patents. An indication of what
Sparks has done in producing confusion
is shown by the fact that 2Sl 900 cases of
suspended patents are now before the
Secretary on appeal.
The President has been fully aware of
this situation from the first; but the
noise Sparks was making about his land
reforms, and the campaign capital he
was constantly manufacturing upon abb
solutely false pretenses were very pleas
ant to the President, and it only is ac-
counted for by this reason that he has re-
Trained from interfering against Sparks,
and for the protection of his Secretary
in an honest attempt to facilitate bust
ness in the Land Office.
Secretary Lamar finally became thor
oughly disguised, and the last letter of
Sparks. which was impudent and insu-
coordinate, was more than he could
stand. He thereupon wrote the scorch-
ing letter which is before the public,
and gave it TO the press.
The Secretary's action seems to please
everybody and none could be found to
defend his conceited and ridiculous
subordinate. The history of the matter
is simply this In August last Commits
sioner Sparks, in response to a request
for the Secretary to adjust the land
grant of the Chicago, st. Paul, Mlnneap-
oils & Omaha Railroad, made an adjust
ment of the grant.
In his adjustment, however, the Com
missioner had held that the road was
not entitled to indemnity for losses sus-
tanned within the granted limits by rea-
bOu VI prior RTdnCS anu RESERVATIONS.
On October z, after a careful examina-
ton of the questions involved, and after
hearing arguments from counsel of the
road, the Secretary rendered an elab-
crate decision, in which he directed the
Commissioner to forthwith readiust the
grant, allowing indemnity for the grants
and reservations, thus completely re-
versing Mr.. Sparks decision. This de-
cision was mandatory upon Commits
sioner Sparks, but instead of complying
with it the Commissioners withheld ac-
ton upon the grant, and instead pre-
pared letter TO the Secretary, in which |
he asked for review of his (the Secre- |
tary's) decision in the case, with a view |
to its reversal. In other words he asked |
the Secretary to reverse himself, and |
gave reasons why heshould do SO, which |
reasons the Secretary reviewed in the |
letter published.